The Thousand Islands region was passed over in the first wave of Loyalist settlement. Although a popular summer tourist destination today, the maze of islands and channels was disconcerting to the early settlers fearful of the labyrinthine wilderness. The islands are a southern outcrop of the Canadian Shield and most are unsuitable for any sort of agriculture. The ice age that gouged out the granite bedrock of the islands also created the fast flowing Gananoque River which attracted Joel Stone and many others to the area over the centuries.
